Nutrition is truly functional during pregnancy and lactation, because it exerts prenatal and early postnatal influences
on the developing baby: maternal nutrition affects the intra-uterine development of the baby and determines the
quality of the breast milk needed to support adequate growth and gut-flora composition.

The more commonly used approach to functional foods involves designed foods in which ingredients have been added or
removed. Only the former category will be considered here. Different types of designed foods are classified as
functional foods: pre-biotics and probiotics, vitamins and minerals, bioactive molecules, and fatty acids

Probiotics added to food products must meet several criteria such as a beneficial effect
on health, survival during transit through the gastrointestinal tract, adhesion (permanent or temporarily) to the
intestinal epithelial cell lining, production of antimicrobial substances toward pathogens or stabilisation of the
intestinal microflora. Over-the-counter supplements, however, may not fulfill these criteria and may not even survive
in the gastrointestinal tract.

With particular relevance for the subject on hand are several trials with either pregnant women, lactating mothers and
their babies, or with children, that have demonstrated several beneficial effects of probiotics. These include the
maturation and health of the intestinal tract and the immune system, the reduction of lactose intolerance and allergy
prevalence, the reduction of the risk of microorganism-induced diarrhea, or the enhancement of nutrient bioavailability.

Not only are probiotics therefore promising functional foods for pregnant women and infants, but they can be considered for
prophylactic as well as therapeutic uses. Prophylactic use of probiotics for women during the last trimester of pregnancy
and through childbirth, for instance, permanently colonised the gastrointestinal tracts of their infants. It is
not yet known whether the immune-boosting properties of these probiotics require periodic pulse
dosage or continuous administration.

Probiotics given to pregnant and lactating mothers increased the immuno-protective potential of breast milk and reduced
the incidence of atopic eczema during the first two years of life in their children.

Another study showed that in addition to allergy occurrence, the number of infections and the need for antibiotics due to
preventive probiotic treatment after birth were reduced even ten years later.

Preventive feeding of fermented milk also increased the absorption of iron due to the liberation of lactic acid and other
organic acids during fermentation. The authors even suggested that consumption of fermented milk during meals might also
have a positive effect on the absorption of iron from other foods. Based on such findings and the fact that even temporary
colonisation of a baby's intestines with probiotic bacteria prevents colonisation with less beneficial bacteria, probiotic
supplementation of milk formula has been proposed.

Probiotic foods are non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by
selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon.

Prebiotic oligosaccharides from different origins have been used as ingredients in functional foods. They may be inulin;
lactulose; fructo-, galacto-, isomalto- or xylo-oligosaccharides.

According to their chemical nature they support higher populations of individual bacteria species in the gut flora. The
largest increase in lactobacilli was seen with xylo-oligosaccharides and lactulose. Although fructo-oligosaccharides
promoted a large increase in lactobacilli, they also supported higher populations of streptococci than did galacto-oligosaccharides.
The latter supported higher populations of bifidobacteria and higher levels of lactate than fructo-oligosaccharides. Latulose and
xylo- and galacto-oligosaccharides thus stimulate the growth of bacteria found in the colon of breast-fed infants, on the other
hand, have a more diverse and adult microflora and tend to suffer more from microbial infections than breast-fed infants.

This means that lactulose, xylo- and glacto-oligosaccharides are the prebiotic oligosaccharides of choice for functional foods
aimed at infants. Supplementing milk formula with these oligosaccharides should therefore circumvent the problem of aberrant colon
colonisation in formula-fed infants. However, prebiotics functional foods will be effective only where there is a real need, since
responses to prebiotics depend on the numbers of bacteria colonising the colon. Individuals with low bifidobacterial counts
displayed much higher responses to prebiotics than individuals with higher bacterial counts.

Prebiotics positively affect the absorption of various minerals as well as mineral contents in bones. The risk of osteoporosis
is higher in formula-fed children than in breast-fed children born at term, even though milk formula has a higher calcium content
than breast milk. Prebiotic supplementation of milk formula might thus help reduce the risk of osteoporosis in formula-fed
children born at term.

This finding does not apply, however, to children born pre-term, where the source of milk does not seem to influence bone mass
later on. Nevertheless, it might be worthwhile later on to follow these term and pre-term children into adult age to check for
possible long-term protection against osteoporosis due to early prebiotic supplementation.

Below is an image of a box of LB17 live probiotic and vegetable soft gel capsuleEach box contains 60 capsules

LB17 live probiotic biomass
LB17 is now also available in paste form without capsules for those who do not or cannot take capsules - see below

Above is a 50gm bottle of LB17 biomass. Next pic is image of the biomass in bulk paste form>>

The above information is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace competent health care advice received
from a knowledgeable healthcare professional. You are urged to seek healthcare advice for the treatment of any illness or disease.
The Food Standards Agency (UK) has not evaluated these
statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent
any disease.